The Home Secretary apologises to holidaymakers who suffered severe delays
because of a massive backlog in passport applications

Theresa May has been forced to apologise to people who have had holidays or business trips ruined by the delays in processing passport applications.

Tens of thousands of people have in recent weeks faced delays after a huge backlog in Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO).

Mrs May told MPs that the Government is now doing everything in its power to deal with the ongoing crisis.

She told the Commons: "Her Majesty's passport office is dealing with the highest demand for passports for 12 years while the surge in demand usually experienced during the summer months started much earlier in the year.

"As a result, a number of people are waiting too long for their passport applications to be processed.

"I would like to say to anybody who is unable to travel because of a delay in processing their passport application that I am sorry and the Government is sorry for the inconvenience they have suffered and we are doing all we can to put things right."

Around 350,000 passport applications are submitted by Britons living overseas to HMPO every year.

Mrs May has been heavily criticised for the Government’s slow response to the passports crisis.

She would not commit to refunds for people who had paid an extra £73 for the premium service for passport renewals after repeated questions from MPs.

The Home Secretary said those who have not received their passports three weeks after the application for renewal and need to travel in seven days will receive their travel documents free of charge.

Immediately before her speech, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper urged Mrs May to begin it with an apology.

Ms Cooper said: "We still don't know when things will be back to normal, families still don't know how long they can expect to wait and we still don't know whether the Home Office has a grip.

"Would it be too much to ask for a little bit of humility from the Home Secretary when she stands up, given the holidays she has put at risk?

"Yesterday the passport office chief executive gave an apology, last week the Prime Minister gave an apology.

"So can we have an apology from the Home Secretary as the minister in charge of it all? Why doesn't she begin her speech with that apology to those families?"

Sir Gerald Kaufman, the Labour MP for Manchester, Gorton, described Mrs May as "useless and arrogant" and said that she is "the worst Home Secretary in my 44 years in the Commons".

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said that the Passport Office had gone from "being a swan to an ugly duckling in just 12 months".

He said: "There is no denying after we took evidence from the chief executive of the passport agency, that there is a crisis.

"I welcome what the Home Secretary has done over the last seven days, I think these are very important measures which I hope will alleviate the real suffering and distress many of our constituents have suffered over the last few months.